Nuoro

Nuoro, the capital city of the eponymous province, is located in the heart of Sardinia, occupying the middle of the island from the east to the west coasts. This is the region people head directly to when they’re interested in discovering Sardinia at its most genuine. Neither the Romans nor the Carthaginians nor any other foreigners have ever succeeded in conquering this wilderness. Over the centuries the remoteness of this region has created a culture in which ancient customs and traditions infuse everyday life to a greater extent than just about anywhere else on Sardinia. In many villages magnificently colourful traditional clothing is still worn, and visitors who witness one of the countless festivals that are held here will come away convinced that the ancient rituals still thrive in this region.

The landscape around Nuoro is wild and hilly. The Ortobene mountain rises at the gates of the city of Nuoro and the town is surrounded by the Gennargentum and Supramonte ranges, the latter the subject of much Sardinian folklore. Barbagia has a long and distinguished crafts tradition. The capital city of the region Barbagia is regarded as the cultural and intellectual centre of the island. Artists, authors and poets gather in Barbagia, both native Sardinians and those who have chosen to make their home on the island. The Nuoro of Grazia Deledda (Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926) but also that of Salvatore Satta, unequalled author of the Il giorno del Giudizio (The Day of Judgement) stops itself between the lines, giving scents and colours otherwise unfindable, outlining an alternative journey, guiding the visitor through unseen corners. See Grazia Deledda's routes and Salvatore Satta's routes.

If you like captivating landscapes, walking and riding paths that follow old shepherd’s trails, extravagantly romantic places with rare species of birds; or if you’re interested in archaeological finds or in visiting the passageways and grottos under the mountains around Oliena with its fascinating folklore and legends; and if at the same time you’d like to have the Mediterranean sea and Sardinia’s idyllic coast line close at hand, then Nuoro is the place for you, Nuoro will fascinate you entirely.